“Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.”
My Notes
What Does Luke 12:33 Mean?
Luke 12:33 is Jesus proposing a radical financial strategy: "Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth."
The command is blunt: sell, give. The Greek pōlēsate ta hyparchonta hymōn — sell your possessions — isn't a suggestion for the spiritually advanced. It's an instruction to the disciples. The proceeds don't fund your future. They fund someone else's present. Give alms — eleēmosynēn, charitable gifts to the poor.
Then Jesus reframes the transaction as investment: "provide yourselves bags which wax not old" — ballantia mē palaioumena, purses that don't wear out. A heavenly portfolio. Treasure that doesn't depreciate, can't be stolen, and isn't subject to decay. Jesus isn't against wealth. He's against perishable wealth trusted as permanent security. He's proposing a transfer — from accounts that fail to accounts that don't. From bags with holes to bags that last forever.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What would you find hardest to sell or give away? What does that reveal about where your treasure actually is?
- 2.Are you investing more in bags that wear out or bags that last? What does your financial behavior say about your actual trust?
- 3.Jesus names theft and decay as the enemies of earthly treasure. Have you experienced loss that proved the fragility of what you were holding onto?
- 4.What specific act of generosity would represent a 'transfer' from earthly to heavenly treasure for you this week?
Devotional
Sell what you have. Give it away. And in doing so, invest in the only portfolio that never loses value.
Jesus isn't asking you to be poor. He's asking you to be smart — but smart by kingdom math, not market math. In the world's economy, you accumulate, protect, and grow. In the kingdom's economy, you sell, give, and transfer. Same financial energy. Different direction. And only one of them produces bags that don't wear out.
"Where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth" — Jesus names the two enemies of earthly treasure: theft and decay. Someone takes it, or time takes it. Either way, it's gone. Every dollar in your bank account is vulnerable to both. But treasure transferred to heaven is in a vault no thief can reach and no moth can eat.
The practical question is obvious: what does this look like? Jesus isn't prescribing a vow of poverty for every follower. He's prescribing a transfer of trust. Whatever you're holding onto for security — sell the grip on it. Open the hand. Give to the people who need it. And trust that the heavenly accounting system is more reliable than the earthly one.
This is terrifying for anyone whose sense of safety is tied to their financial cushion. And that's most of us. But Jesus doesn't tell you to abandon security. He tells you to relocate it. Move it from the bag with holes to the bag that lasts. The treasure is still yours. It's just in a better vault.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Sell that ye have, and give alms,.... Since they had a kingdom bequeathed them by their heavenly Father, they should be…
Sell that ye have - Sell your property. Exchange it for that which you can use in distributing charity. This was the…
Sell that ye have - Dispose of your goods. Be not like the foolish man already mentioned, who laid up the produce of his…
Our Lord Jesus is here inculcating some needful useful lessons upon his disciples, which he had before taught them, and…
Sell that ye have This command was taken very literally by the early Church, Act 2:44-45. Comp. Luk 16:9; Mat 19:21.
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture